


Cyborg Hand or Not

by creampuffqueen



Series: Future Family Fics [28]
Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Cyborgs, F/M, kids are also super innocent, kids are cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:42:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23788033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creampuffqueen/pseuds/creampuffqueen
Summary: A request from tumblr, "Could you do a fic where Peony doesn't know why her mom has a cool hand but she knows she wants one?"
Relationships: Kai/Linh Cinder
Series: Future Family Fics [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538509
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	Cyborg Hand or Not

“And then, I’m just going to add in the new data chip, like this-” Cinder held the small chip in her right hand, pressing it carefully into the slot inside the portscreen. Peony, her five year old daughter, watched, eyes wide in fascination. 

Peony was at an age where she was absorbing new information like a sponge. She was completely enraptured with the world and how everything worked, and her questions never ceased. So when her portscreen had run out of space that morning, Cinder had decided to show her how to replace it herself.

“Is it ready to use?” The girl asked, scooting closer to her mother.

“Not yet. I have to put the screen back on first.” Cinder laughed at her daughter’s enthusiasm. When she’d offered to show her how the portscreen worked, Peony had insisted on wearing Cinder’s mechanic gloves, claiming they made her ‘just like mommy’. 

The screwdriver built into one of her fingers emerged with a thought, and Peony’s attention was instantly taken.

“Wow.” She breathed. “Mommy, do you have a whole tool kit in your hand?”

“Almost.” Cinder chuckled. “It’s pretty darn useful, I’d say.”

She screwed the screen back on and sent the screwdriver away, handing the portscreen back to Peony, still wearing her greasy gloves.

“How come I didn’t get a metal hand?” Peony pondered. “You have lots of metal, Daddy has none, so I should have maybe some metal fingers, like Uncle Thorne or Aunt Scarlet.”

“That’s… not exactly how it works, sweetheart.” Cinder laughed. “Here, let’s take off the gloves so you don’t make a mess with your new portscreen.”

“I want a metal hand though, Mommy.” Peony complained, pulling off the gloves with a sigh. “And I could put all sorts of cool stuff in it like-”

“You don’t get metal from genetics, Peony.” Cinder couldn’t keep the smile off her face. 

“If I had a metal hand, then I’d put scissors, and a fork, and maybe a glue stick in it. So I could always stick things together. And I could eat whenever I wanted!” Peony, clearly ignoring her, continued on about all the cool things she’d do with a cyborg hand. 

Cinder decided to ignore it; there was no point to crushing her daughter’s imagination. So she nodded along as Peony prattled on, even as they walked back to her bedroom and she started playing with her toys.

“Mommy, can I have a cool hand like yours? Maybe for Christmas? Pretty please?” Peony fluttered her dark lashes and looked up at Cinder with puppy eyes.

“Sweetheart, it doesn’t really work like that.” 

“How does it work?” Peony’s favorite question at the moment.

Before Cinder could answer, Kai opened up the bedroom door. “There you two are. I thought you’d be in the library.”

“No, Mommy showed me how to fix my portscreen!” Peony chirped, standing up and waving the device at her father. “Look!”

“That’s great, darling.” Kai laughed, ruffling his daughter’s hair. “Mommy’s a pretty great mechanic, isn’t she?”

“The _best_!” Peony cheered, running over to tackle Cinder from behind in a hug. “And Mommy showed me all the extra cool stuff her hand can do! I want a metal hand just like Mommy!”

Kai winced. “Peony, darling, I hope you never have to have a metal hand like Mommy.”

Their daughter’s face fell. “Why? It’s so cool.”

“Peony,” Cinder said, pulling her into her lap, “I had to get my metal hand and leg because I was in a bad accident.”

“Like the time I tripped on the stairs because I was running? And I had to wear that funny cast thing?” Peony’s innocence was endearing, and Cinder almost hated herself for ruining it. But… she supposed she had to know the truth.

“Kind of. Except you know how your arm got better after a few weeks? Well, when I had my accident, my hand and leg didn’t get better.”

“Oh. Did it hurt?” Peony asked.

Cinder honestly couldn’t say she truly remembered. She had memories, dreams of pain, but she’d been put in the suspension tank soon after, and everything else was nonexistent after that. “It hurt a lot. And the only way I could get better was by getting a new hand and leg.”

“That’s so sad, Mommy.” Peony’s eyes were wide again, this time with tears. “I don’t want to be hurt to have a cool hand.”

“And I don’t want you to be hurt to have a cool hand.” Cinder said. 

“You know what,” Kai said from behind them, “I think I have an idea.” When Cinder looked to face him, her husband was grinning.

~~~~

“Look! I’m just like Mommy!” Peony giggled, earlier sadness forgotten as she curled and uncurled her right hand.

Kai’s brilliant idea- paint. They’d managed to find a whole bottle of silver, and he’d spent nearly half an hour painstakingly copying Cinder’s hand onto their daughter’s. Peony had sat still the entire time, a broad smile on her face. 

“Look at that.” Kai chuckled. “You’re just like twins.”

“Take a picture, Mommy!” Peony said, bouncing up and down with her portscreen. Cinder obliged, laughing.

She held out her hand, and Peony put hers on top. Cinder snapped a picture, solidifying it as the first photo saved on the new data chip.

“Thank you, Daddy.” Peony chirped, turning to Kai. “Can I keep it on forever?”

Kai laughed at that, bending down to kiss his daughter’s unpainted hand. “Not forever, darling. But for today, you can.”

Peony hugged him tightly, dark haired head only reaching his waist. “I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, Peony.”

Their daughter turned to Cinder next, still marveling over the silvery paint on her hand. “I love you, Mommy.”

“And I love you too, Peony. Cyborg hand or not.”

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my tumblr @creampuffqueen


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